The Amber World
by IceRi
Summary: You ever wonder what it would be like to see from Michael Lee's amber-tinted point of view? The most under appreciated character in Witch Hunter Robin, Michael, gets a semi-alternate universe backstory.
1. City Air

**The Amber World**  
by IceRi 

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. The first takes place upon his family's arrival in Japan.

**Rating**: G

**Disclaimer**: Michael Lee, With Hunter Robin, STN, none of it belongs to me.

* * *

City Air

A pair or stark blue eyes gazed up at the sky from the cab window. Twelve-year old Michael Lee stared up at a departing plane as it circled around, heading out over the Pacific Ocean. He closed his eyes, and rested his chin in his palm. He didn't want to think about home now.

The least he could do was be optimistic, he reasoned with himself. His dad had been waiting for that promotion for years. The Japan-based company he worked for had been his employer since before Michael was born, and he had slowly been working his way up to working at the head office in Tokyo. When they got the news, his mother and father had been overjoyed.

At least he wasn't the only one leaving something behind, right? Now, that was a lie. While their suburban Vancouver townhouse had been a bump in the path of success to his goal-oriented parents, Michael had set down roots. He was leaving behind good friends, an awesome school which he would have been graduating from at the end of June, and hockey. In the middle of the season, his hometown Canucks were doing much better than usual; but he would probably never hear about it. Japan was big on baseball, or so he heard.

_"I'm sure you'll love it Michael. Just give it a chance." _How many times had he heard that since his Dad's promotion? _"You'll catch on to the language quickly, Michael. You'll make some new friends right away, Michael. You'll get to experience another culture, Michael. Just be happy for us now." _He sighed dejectedly. No one would understand him.

* * *

"Have a very good life here, Sir and Madam." The cab driver called as he drove away.

The boy was looking up at the fifteen-story apartment building right on the street. Nothing fancy, not in any high-end neighborhood. He followed his parents inside, where they took the elevator to the eleventh floor. The air in the small space was tense. Neither he nor his mother had seen their living space yet

The elevator stopped at their floor, and it was a short walk down the hall to the apartment 1104, his new address. The door swung open to reveal a small kitchen, and beyond a tiny living room. They stepped inside, removing their shoes at the door.

"It's… Nice." His mother Miranda commented quietly. Michael could tell she disliked it.

He picked his bag up out of the doorway, and looked in the first room on the left. It was small, and the only box inside read 'Michael's Room', so he figured it was his. He set down the bag. The space was cramped, even though the only things inside were a desk and a bed. His dresser had been neatly sandwiched into the tiny closet. It was hot, and so he moved to the window, opening it.

He was hit by a blast of cold air that smelled rather foul. He immediately slid the window shut. The heat was better than the smell. Having had lived in suburbia his entire life, he knew what a bad air day smelled like, but this was about four times worse, on a normal day.

The sun was setting, and the lights of the city began flickering on. He sat on his low window ledge, watching the sun go down. He already hated it.


	2. Trouble

**The Amber World**  
By IceRi

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. Approximately one year after arriving in Japan, his life is just as he predicted: Bad. To dull out the pain of prejudice and loneliness, he turns to risky behavior.

**Rating**: PG for petty crimes. Uh oh, Michael…

**Disclaimer**: If you recognize it, it's not mine. But if anyone's feeling generous, I'd like Michael's yellow glasses…

* * *

Trouble

"Oi! Gaijin!" The taunting calls of his peers flew over the traffic. He knew it was common for Caucasians to be called that by Japanese, but something in the way they said it made his blood boil. He gritted his teeth, telling himself that if he ignored them, they would go away. Even if he didn't for a second believe it.

The promise of high school in a year and four months was some glimmer of hope to Michael. As long as his grades were good, he could go to a boarding school some where, anywhere away from the students at his middle school.

He entered the small supermarket on his way home, wandering the aisles, just for something to do. He stopped by a display of different sunglasses, and tried on a pair with amber lenses. Looking in the small mirror, he noted they made his eyes look darker. 'Good.' He took them off, and read the tag.

"2200 yen! I'm not rich…" He exclaimed to no one in particular, and was about to put them back on the shelf when he paused a moment.

The clerk at the front was busy with customers, and the surveillance camera was pointed down another aisle. He silently slipped the glasses into the pocket of his jacket. Walking down another aisle, he grabbed a bag of chips and a can of soda, and got into the lineup for the cashier.

His heart was racing as he reached the front of the line, and mutely paid the 300 yen for his snack. He was walking out the door when the high-pitched scream of the alarm system caught him off guard. He was about to break into a run the squeal stopped abruptly.

"Don't worry about it, young man. My system has been acting crazy all week, and I've already bugged three innocent shoppers, no use bothering another one. I can't believe they haven't come to fix it yet…" The cashier waved him off, and he left the store quickly, walking down the street, and turning the corner.

Once he was out of sight, he removed the glasses from his pocket, smiling as they glinted in the sun.

"That was a rush."


	3. Hack

**The Amber World**  
By IceRi 

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. The third follows his school and home life after one year in Japan.

**Rating**: PG-13 for his Mom's language

**Disclaimer**: Bah. You know I don't own it.

* * *

Hack

_Tak. Tak Tak. Click. Tak Tak. Click Click._

The computer lab was silent except for those noises. The boy was bored, and had finished his assignment a while back. Though, he didn't want to admit it, because then he would be assigned something else. He was about to admit his completion when a little note skidded across his keypad.

Looking over, he saw the only person who had made any semblance ofeffort to befriend him smiling slightly. He unfolded the paper.

_Bored? Take a look at this website. But have some unfinished work open in case the teacher walks by._

He nodded slowly and erased part of his answers, before typing in the web address. Suddenly, a bunch of scantily clad girls flashed on screen in pop-up after pop-up. Blushing scarlet, he quit the application as fast as he could, harnessing his knowledge with computers to eradicate the pop-ups quickly. Not that it didn't earn a disapproving glance from the girl next to him.

He looked over at his 'friend', who was now snickering smugly with his other pals. Sinking into his chair, he worked to complete his answers again.

* * *

"Hello! I'm Home!"

No one answered. Of course they wouldn't. His father always "worked late", which meant that he was out sleeping with his secretary. His mother had returned to Canada and her old job, but had refused when he asked to come with her.

_"Why should I do that? You haven't done a single fucking thing for me kid, and neither has your father. You can both stay here and rot until you die and burn in hell!"_

_'And even she was still here, and even if we were still something of a happy family, they would be nagging at me to use my Japanese, as if I don't get enough of that at school'._

He dragged a hand across his eyes, shook his head and went to his room. The slow hum of his computer starting up was a small comfort. He had a knack with computers, and had been teaching himself ways to manipulate programs since his father first brought home their first PC. He had been six at the time.

_'Now, where was I? Oh yeah, 857...'_

Recently, in his own boredom, he had taken to hacking into large organisations within the country, as he honed his skills. Starting from the bottom of a list of 1000 organisations, he worked his way up. The list had been ripped out of a magazine, one of his Dad's work magazines, he had figured at the time.

After he finished with the current one (a relatively simple operation, as the web base wasn't that well-used) he moved on to the next one. Squinting at the characters he had learned to read, he adjusted his glasses.

"...STN-J? What's that?"


	4. Judgment Day

**The Amber World**  
by IceRi 

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. Michael's life is turned upside down after he hacks into the STN-J. Songficlet

**Rating**: PG for dark themes and violence

**Disclaimer**: I am 17 dollars in debt. Do you think I own Witch Hunter Robin? Haha, I don't. I don't own the song, "Sound the Bugle" by Bryan Adams either.

**Author's note**: Shout outs to my awesome reviewers Shizzle Sizzle, Tylec Asroc, and Zurizip. I also re-uploaded Chapter 3 with a slightly different take as Tylec pointed out (since I know absolutely nothing about hacking) that Michael wouldn't have such awesome skills without taking some time. This one's a bit longer than normal.

* * *

Judgment Day 

He was too afraid to do anything but gape as he heard someone banging on the door, the splinter of wood.

STN-J had turned out to be a small branch of a huge international organization called SOLOMON, which was around to _hunt witches_. He hadn't read much into it until after he had tried to withdraw from the hack and he had been trapped inside.

There was something amiss though. Why would anyone start an organization to practice something as superstitious as witch hunts? Everyone knew that witches didn't exist, and never had. Still, he sat there chewing his nails (he hadn't ever done it before) and trying to back out of the hack, to deny it was him when the inevitable knock came at the door.

However, he had hardly expected a fully armed swat team to come busting through his door. He sat there, eyes wide at his computer desk as they surrounded him, and his computer.

"What do we do? This one's just a kid. It doesn't even look like he's a witch."

He was too afraid to kick, or to scream, when the mysterious men grabbed him and his computer and hauled him down to a big black truck, throwing him in the back none too gently and closing the door. A sweet smelling gas was pumped into the chamber, and the last thing he remembered was the rumble of the engine taking him away.

_Sound the bugle now - play it just for me  
As the seasons change - remember how I used to be  
Now I can't go on - I can't even start  
I've got nothing left - just an empty heart_

When he woke up, he was laying on a cold floor in a small, cell-like space. _A_ _prison? Those guys didn't look like police, though…_ The only other occupant of the room was a young woman, probably only two or three years older than himself. She was leaning against the wall next to the door, looking slightly nervous and playing with the hem of her blazer.

"Hey… Can you tell me what's going on?"

She jumped slightly at his words, as he sat up slightly.

"Uh, the boss wants to see you right away!"

She opened the door and allowed him to walk out. Michael took the opportunity to look around as she half-dragged him by his arm through the maze-like building. Upon passing through what looked like an office, he received a few curious glances from the small number of people that were there.

"Karasuma, is that…?"

The girl had him by the arm paused, and nodded, before taking him past the office and into a long, immaculate hallway. When they came to the door at the end, he was ordered to stay put. When she returned, she looked more nervous than before; she swept her arm towards the door, before returning down the hall. He stared at the doorknob, wondering grimly whether he would make it out alive.

_I'm a soldier - wounded so I must give up the fight  
There's nothing more for me - lead me away...  
Or leave me lying here_

He was told to sit, and he did, and then promptly had a gun pressed to his temple. He shuddered at the feeling of the cold metal, and the pressure from the gun increased. The imposing looking man across from him frowned

"You must know _why_ you're here."

Michael nodded his assent, keenly aware of the gun brushing his scalp. It was all he could do not to flinch again.

"From analyzing your computer, we know that you've seen too much of our inner working to just let you off the hook. We can't let you go at all. I'm sure you're regretting your mistake right now. Today's youth are getting very lawless."

His brain was working overtime translating. In his panic, he could barely recognize the words he had come to know as second nature. He knew that in a second, his head would be blown clear off, or maybe they would take him back to that big truck…

"But your skill impresses me. You are the only person - normal or otherwise - to hack the STN-J. We could use you."

He pretended to think. Michael knew he was being toyed with when the man blew a large puff of smoke from his cigar into his face. He held his breath.

"Give me a few days to think about it. In the mean time…"

_Sound the bugle now - tell them I don't care  
There's not a road I know - that leads to anywhere  
Without a light I fear that I will - stumble in the dark  
Lay right down - decide not to go on_

He sat dejected in his cell, no longer needing to be watched. He toyed with the chain that had been wrapped around his neck. It had a dog tag attached, but he knew that it had to be something more. He wasn't reading too much into it at this point, what he was thinking about was the feeling of the cold gun pressed into his temple, wondering how it would feel when that nameless, faceless person came back and pulled the trigger.

There was no 'if' in his mind. He was confident in his abilities, but the web base had been quite challenging to get into, so obviously they already had someone who was quite skilled with computers. He was absolutely _dispensable_. He began shaking again. In the past three days, he had cried so much that he couldn't actually cry tears anymore. Occasionally one would slip out, leaving a salty trail down his face, but mostly it was just him breaking down.

He was allowed to move around now (the tag was probably some kind of tracking device), and so he went off to one of the seldom used washrooms to wipe his face. After splashing some water over his head and cleaning his glasses up, he looked at himself. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot, his hair was slightly matted and his clothes rumpled. He hardly even looked like himself.

_Then from on high - somewhere in the distance  
there's a voice that calls - remember who you are  
if you lose yourself - your courage soon will follow_

'_Myself…'_ The word echoed through his mind. Would the Michael Lee of before really give up so fast? Hadn't there been a bunch of challenges that he had needed to get over that were intense? He had never been one to resign himself to defeat.

He returned to his cell to find the woman from a few days ago looking for him. He had come to know her as Miss Karasuma, as she was the one who brought him food and water as well.

"Zaizen wants to see you again. You know the way?"

He nodded, and started the meandering walk through the large building to get to the fifth floor office of the head administrator. He was still afraid of this meeting, his intuition told him to turn around and run as fast and as far as he could. The door came up quicker than was expected. He had dazed slightly, and knocked once. It creaked open from the inside, and he entered the foreboding office, shutting the door behind him, and taking a seat as last time.

"Your name is Michael, yes?"

"Yes boss."

He cringed, having forgotten to speak in Japanese, as he sometimes did. The administrator merely chuckled though.

"I knew you weren't Japanese. You don't carry yourself around like one; you actually meet the eyes of those you talk to who are older than yourself. American, are you?"

"Canadian, sir."

He raised an eyebrow, and lit another of his horrible smelling cigars.

"Are you afraid, Michael? You know, your father already thinks that you're dead. As far as I know, you have no more family in the country. Is that right?"

"Yes boss."

The administrator opened a drawer in his massive desk, removing a small, shiny black handgun. He clicked the safety off, and pointed it right in his face.

"So are you scared?"

He nodded slowly.

"Do you want to live?"

He nodded again.

"Give me one reason not to kill you right now."

"I can work for you."

_So be strong tonight - remember who you are  
You're a soldier now - fighting in a battle  
To be free once more - that's worth fighting for_


	5. Pwned

**The Amber World**  
by IceRi 

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. As a thirteen year-old is flung headlong into their world, the hunters don't bat an eye, but the hacker struggles to maintain composure in his newfound cage when no one seems to take him seriously.

**Rating**: G

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own it.

**Author's note**: Sorry for the delay. Review responses at the end of this chapter. Regarding the title… I couldn't help it

* * *

Pwned

His inauguration into STN life had been swift. The reclusive and at times terrifying administrator Takuma Zaizen had emerged from his smoky office to let the Chief and Hunters know that there had been a sudden addition, introduced him, and left.

Michael however, was completely unsure of what to do. Luckily, the Chief Kosaka had plans for him immediately. He was given a whirlwind tour of the office and then set down at a computer desk with a bunch of files.

"Type these up for me would you? Save them into the folder labeled Police Reports."

He nodded and began typing, settling his mind into a state something like paralysis. Typing was the very most basic of his skills. The largest challenge in the task was trying to figure out the messy characters of whoever wrote the reports. Something in the back of his head told him they had no confidence in what he had done, what he could do.

Granted, he was thirteen.

The end of the day was slow in its coming. Slowly, the small group of people trickled out to wherever they were going. At some point in time, he opened his mouth to offer a casual "Jyane" to someone who had called out goodbye, but then he had remembered they probably didn't know him, and he sighed, just so slightly.

He didn't know what to do with himself. Mostly everyone was gone, he had completed typing the files, and the Chief had gone. Just then, his assistant Hattori passed by, on his way out for the night.

"Excuse me," Michael began nervously, "but what do I do now?"

Hattori cocked his head to the side and then laughed.

"They didn't tell you? You only have to work until 6pm. After that, you're free to wander around here as you please. You can't leave though. Zaizen would have your head. Have a good night…" He paused, having forgotten the hacker's name.

"Michael."

Hattori nodded and went for the elevator. As soon as he was gone, Michael looked around. From every corner of the room loomed nothingness. He sat at his workstation, leaned his head back and looked out of the window.

_What do I do now?

* * *

_

Two days had passed since Michael had been ushered into working life at the STN-J. He still didn't quite understand what they did, nor did he receive any answers to the questions he asked. He had learned just the slightest about the people he was working with.

There was Edward Wong, the Lead Hunter, who was friendly (but still somewhat wary of Michael) and somewhere into his mid-forties. There was Amon something-or-other (no one actually knew his last name. It wasn't even in his personal file), who was next-in-line to be leader. He was cold and distant to _everyone_; it seemed, as well as arrogant. That Karasuma girl, and two more women, whose names he couldn't remember, rounded out the hunters.

Upon returning from getting some more "work" from the chief, he lingered slightly, watching his coworkers. Amon was squinting at his computer screen, trying to figure something out, while Edward was hanging over his shoulder with one of the women trying to help him out, to no avail.

"I could probably help you with that-" He began, finally able to use his skills

"No." Came Amon's cold response. He sighed, and pushed the work away for a moment. This was something that just had to be done.

"Hey! What's going on with my communicator!" Came the call from Kate, who was busy trying to fix her hand phone. There were a few more exasperated cries from those using the computers, which now possessed a screen saver not unlike the one flashing on Kate's communicator.

_My name is Michael Lee. You might know me as That-Kid-Who-Appeared-Over-There-A-Few-Days-Ago. I can do a lot more than this, if you give me a chance. I can be more helpful than you think._

All eyes snapped to the hacker, who was lounging in the chair, waiting for the imminent response. Instead, they just rolled their eyes and returned to working. Or so they had hoped.

Escape. Control-Alt-Delete. Reset Button. Enter. Backspace. Punching in random numbers and letters. Slapping the monitor. Clicking the mouse. Banging one's head repeatedly on their desk. None of these were successful in removing Michael's message, still scrolling by in quavering multi-colors.

No one wanted to be the first to go up and ask him to fix it. They had been avoiding him in a 'Maybe if you ignore it, it'll go away' fashion, and not a single person in the room wanted to acknowledge it. Michael merrily typed away, trying to hide the huge 'I told you so' grin that was threatening to peek out from his bored exterior.

"Michael. Can you get rid of this please?" Edward's voice called across the room.

He was at Amon's computer in a heartbeat. He had been itching to work with this computer, as it had been obvious when he saw it that it was the newest, most tech-savvy system in the office. A well placed click brought up a password box, which he entered in, which in turn brought out a numeric decoder. He disposed of it in a minute, and Amon's screen went back to normal.

"So what was that problem before?" He quipped brightly, which was received by a sullen glare from Amon.

"Don't you need to fix the other computers and Kate's communicator?" Amon hinted dryly, not so subtly telling the hacker that he could figure out the problem without Michael's help.

Michael smiled innocently. "Well, that would take up precious time and energy to do individually. I can just override that program from my computer."

At that point everyone knew, but no one even dared think it other than Michael: Amon had been pwned.

* * *

**Review responses**

**Cerridwene:** Thank you so much. It's great to know my writing is liked.

**Tylec Asroc:** I was wondering how my Rookie-esque Karasuma would go over with readers. I just wanted to highlight the fact that people can't be the same forever, and that she would have been pretty young when she started out. Thanks for the great reviews.

**KillmeKissme:** Michael's my favorite. Thanks for the review.

**Miranda:** Sorry for the… overly long wait.

**Zurizip:** Oh good. I wasn't quite happy with my first version of chapter three, and after I posted it, I came up with an alternate idea. Secondly, who _doesn't_ hate Zaizen? Regarding Miho, it's just because I figure she's in her mid-teens and probably dealing with figuring herself out as well as hunting witches. The cool Karasuma we all know is probably a byproduct of a few years' mistakes and nervousness, ne?

**Darkwood:** The glasses, I figured, were just something fashionable. The series never hinted that he might need them. Just so you know, this is set 3 years before the series. A year had passed since Michael and his family had come to Japan. I don't know anyone who could pick up a language that quick. Thanks for your review.

**petite-hikarie:** Oh definitely. XD

**Golden-sama:** …This is where I begin hyperventilating. OMG (!) It's Golden-sama (!). Thanks so much for your review; I'm glad you like the story. I may just have to screen cap your review, print it out, and stick it on the wall next to my computer with a few (thousand) gold stars attached. In case you missed it, I totally love you and your RobinxMichael fics.


	6. Please Be Advised

**The Amber World**  
by IceRi 

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. He had been advised against reading the press releases, and now he knew why.

**Rating**: G

**Disclaimer**: Ohohoho! I now have a biweekly paycheck, but I don't own it.

**Author's note**: Baaah. Total writer's block.

* * *

Please Be Advised

Every night, it seemed, he stayed up late. The young hacker tended to stay at his desk long after everyone left for the night. After the incident with all of the computers and communicators, Amon had surrendered his computer to Michael. Within a day or two, the wires sprouting from the back had nearly tripled. It was now acknowledged that, while Amon wished he was a tech expert, Michael was the one they should go to with any questions.

Edward, who was now as friendly with him as he was with any other team member, had pulled him aside at the end of that day and kindly told him that looking into the press releases on his own "death" could bring nothing good. As much as he had grown to respect the senior team member, Michael's curiosity had killed the cat a few times too many, and this night was no exception.

A local news media archive held the story he was looking for, fully covered along with a clip from an interview. The cursor hovered over the link. One click and he would know. However, Edward had specifically told him that knowing could bring about no happiness.

Click.

_After several weeks of looking, search crews have uncovered the body of a 13 year old immigrant boy. _

_Michael Lee had come to Japan one year ago with his family, after his father had transferred to his company's head offices here in Tokyo. The move agitated the normally stable family situation. Miranda Lee, the boy's mother, had divorced her husband and returned to Canada to be with her family. Michael's school described him as being an average student who was not accepted by his peers because of his status as a foreigner. His father was busy with work, and could not have noticed his sons slip away from normality._

_Late last month, Pryce Lee reported the boy missing, after a break in to the family apartment. The home had been totally wrecked, but after some examination, the only thing missing had been Michael's computer hard drive and a page out of a business magazine left on his desk._

_Just yesterday, police and search-and-rescue crews uncovered the mangled body of the boy, who had been severely beaten and then dumped in the woods not far from the outskirts of the city._

_The boy's mother returned to Japan upon hearing news of her son's disappearance. She made this statement shortly after the discovery of Michael's body._

"_The last thing I can even remember of Michael was having an argument with him over whether or not he could return to Canada with me. I had regretted those harsh words ever since they came out, and now he's gone. I could only wish that I could have left him with better memories of me. Oh, Michael…"_

_One classmate, Asuka Minako, did come forward, saying that Michael had been technologically gifted, and that he may have gotten into more trouble than he bargained for. She also said that Michael had been a nice person, and that no one had given him enough of a chance. Asuka-san sat next to Michael in Technology class._

_His body will be flown back to Vancouver with his mother. Pryce Lee has made no comment on whether he will return with his ex-wife and deceased son._

His body shook with sobs, and his mind screamed _'I'm right here!'_ but there was nothing he could do. Early the next morning, Edward found him lying asleep at his desk, the video clip of his mother speaking playing on loop. The leader sighed, and shut off the computer.

* * *

Review responses

Golden-sama: I'm glad you liked it. I rather enjoyed writing that part, although I had NO idea what I was doing. Sorry for the delay.

KillmeKissme: Thanks for your review, and I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter. I found it kind of sad while I was writing it.

Cerridwene: Oh yes, much love for our evil little hacker boy.

Ex-seal-66: XD Of course Canada rocks. I don't know about relationships. I have to keep it in context, but there will probably be hints of RxM, so we'll just see where it goes. And for the definition of pwned, look up owned on the dictionary, and look at the second definition. That should help you out.

Zurizip: Oh yes. No matter how much Amon wishes he was 1337, only Michael gets that title in the STN-J. Enjoy this latest chapter.

Miranda: Glad you enjoyed it!

Rima: Thank you for your review.


	7. Idolizing

The Amber World  
by IceRi 

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. Everyone needs someone to look up to. Michael aspires to be like two. But how does he go about that when one of them won't even acknowledge his existence?

**Rating**: G

**Disclaimer**: I scare nothing. Even you become napkins!

**Author's note**: You may now kill me, or throw assorted rotten foodstuffs as you please.

* * *

Idolizing

There was a soft rumble and click as the elevator door shut behind Edward Wong, the leader of the STN-J's witch hunting task force, as he walked into the main office. Flicking on the lights, he sighed and shook his head as their new resident hacker boy popped up from behind the biggest computer desk.

"Working all night again, Mike?" He chuckled as the thirteen year old shook his head fervently.

"Actually no," he began "I just woke up not too long ago. I came up here to work at Amon's computer before he gets here at his normal, obscenely early hour." The boy fought off tacking 'Ed' onto the end of his sentence. The leader knew he hated being called Mike, and teased him constantly, but despite his jovial nature, Michael wasn't entirely sure he was to be trusted yet. Though, he would like it to be that way. He didn't have anyone to trust in this foreign new world.

Edward walked over to find that, indeed, he was working on something. A program was running, codes, numbers and words whizzing by at a rate of speed that made his head spin in the pre-dawn sleepy daze he was under. "Got any coffee?"

Michael motioned toward the pot. "It should be finished now." He spoke casually. He actually looked up to the man, who was now getting them both a mug of steaming coffee. He always had a positive attitude, even during and after very serious and saddening witch hunts. At least, hunts he thought would be serious and saddening.

The leader returned and sat down next to him, and they both sipped their coffee silently, listening to the hum and whirr of the computer, and watching the sky lighten slightly to the east. "That computer is really yours, you know," Edward abruptly broke the calm, his voice bouncing off of the high ceiling and stone walls slightly, "Amon continues to sit there, but he knows that you're much better suited to the technology. He isn't that bad of a guy, really. He's just quiet."

Michael's eyes flicked to the machine before him, the numerous possibilities flashing before his very eyes like tantalizing candy. He smiled giddily, but that grin faded as the person he looked up to most spoke of his other mentor. "I know he's not a bad guy. Sometimes I wonder though, if he really even cares what he's doing with himself, or who's around him…"

The leader smiled, seeing the brand of hero worship only young men are capable of sparkling in the boy's eyes. "Give him time, Amon will come around. If I was you, I might reconsider trying to be like him though. This organization has its hands full with one Amon. I think we would all go crazy if there were two of him."

He smiled again, and then went to his own workstation, as Michael went back to his old computer, transplanting cable after cable into his new 'toy'. The youth must really have some potential, Edward thought, considering he not only disposed of the safeguards against hackers like they were playthings, but rewrote the entire program within the first few days of his arrival, tweaking and adjusting as he went along.

Approximately an hour later, the usually stoic Amon sauntered in, to find his normal seat occupied by a scrawny preteen. He walked over to the kid, glowered down at him sullenly, and then shrugged. "If you're going to sit there, you can be dispatcher." He indicated to the sleek headset sitting on the desk, and pretended not to see the beaming grin the kid had given him as he walked away.

* * *

Review responses:

Rima: -blush- Thank you, though I don't really think my abilities are great… Sorry about the wait to update and I hope you enjoy this latest chapter!

The-Anibee: Well I hope I made up for the sadness in chapter six! ;

Zurizip: Sorry for the delay, but you're just as guilty! poke Haha, I hope you like iiiiit!

cookiequeen09: Ehehehe… I suppose I'm just as bad as all of those authors now. I didn't update all summer. As for the short thing, these are supposed to only be drabbles. Well, they're way over 100 words apiece, but they're still meant to be short. Glimpses into his life, really. I do my best, but I just can't write long things. Anyway, I hope you're still reading and you enjoy this new chapter. It's all for you guys, after all.

TenchiTenryou38: Yeah, Michael really has quite the situation cut out for himself there. Sorry for the delay and glad you like the story!

ex-seal-66: -runs and hides- I hope you're still willing to read and review, I appreciate your comments.

m-girls: I'm glad you like it!

.hack: Yep. Here's the continuation. You should be able to forward to updates more often.


	8. Pain of Memory

**The Amber World**  
by IceRi 

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. When the hunts are in progress, Michael must sit and wait for any calls for information, or to bring in the factory. But what kind of pain can the downtime and subsequent memories bring when all happiness is stolen away?

**Rating**: PG-13, for dark, angsty, and emo themes.

**Disclaimer**: I… um… Who were we talking about?

**Author's note**: This chapter killed me to write. Sorry for the delay.

* * *

Pain of Memory

The soft hum and nearly inaudible crackle of the communicator filled Michael's ears. He was tense, and charged, a particularly violent witch was being hunted, and he had to wonder how the team was faring (everyone had been dispatched, except for the new girl Doujima, who sat there and read her fashion magazines as per usual. She didn't bother him, as long as she didn't say anything.

Slowly the adrenaline high began to fade, as no news was reported over the communicator. It obviously wasn't easy, but they weren't having a hard enough time that they needed to know anything from him. He slowly turned to the second, independent workstation beside him, and looked up some American news media, his bad habit in his spare time.

He read a few stories, more of the same rape, murder, and extortion in the major western cities, but the next tagline made him pause. It was about a Thanksgiving Day parade, which was being held in Philadelphia, the oldest in the country.

_I missed Thanksgiving… Even after Mom left, Dad and I used to celebrate it. But I missed it; it was way back in October. Now the Americans are having theirs on Sunday… _The teenager let his gaze slowly float to a box of doughnuts, brought in this morning by a sleepy Edward, along with the third female member of the team, Kurogawa Tsubasa. She was a fairly nice and quiet woman. She and Edward had been dating off and on ever since he had arrived, and probably even before then, though they never let it affect their dynamic at work. His thoughts floated to his first arrival, the shy Karasuma always making sure he was all right, even before he became an official member of the STN. Kate was always rather nice to him, and made him laugh. He thought of Amon and Zaizen, and chuckled aloud, startling Doujima. With them, he figured he was lucky to be alive. _I'm thankful that, even though I'm still a prisoner, _He toyed with the chain around his neck._ I can still find something like home._

The communicator crackled on. Michael whipped on his headset, returning from his thoughts. "Michael. Call the factory." A tired sounding Amon growled, Michael sighing with relief that the ordeal was over. He expected a bit of a briefing on what had happened, but the static ceased, and the boy couldn't contact anyone on their communicators.

* * *

Approximately an hour later, three agonized faces appeared out of the elevator. Amon paused near Michael's desk, turning back to the two women, who were crying very quietly.

"Karasuma, Kate. Go home." He asserted, dismissing them as Edward usually would. Michael felt the tension crackling through the air. What was wrong? Both girls immediately shook their heads, and Amon sighed, exasperated. Karasuma, in an uncommon show of temper, slammed her palms down on the desk, startling everyone.

"Do you think we're going to leave Michael to you? You cold heartless bastard! How would you tell him, I wonder? Go! Leave! Make your report! I never want to see you again!" She yelled, leaving just about everyone in the room agape at her audacity, except for Amon, who just turned and stalked up to Zaizen's office. Then she collapsed into a heap on the floor, Kate patting her back as she sobbed. The girl Doujima took this time to remove herself from the situation silently, and went home.

She looked up to the startled, confused, and worried teenager. "Michael… Edward and Tsubasa-chan were taken down by the witch. I'm sorry." She paused, looking away, wiping the tears from her bloodshot eyes. "I know you were very close with Edward. If there's anything we can do… Just ask." With that, she coaxed the seventeen year old Karasuma up off of the floor, and gently led her back to the elevator, where they left for the day.

The boy still sat there in shock when Amon appeared from Zaizen's office. He turned to the new leader of the STN-J team, and their eyes met for a fraction of a second, and Michael could see that, while he was hard and stoic, Amon too was deeply hurt by the loss of two comrades. "He was one hundred and ten percent dedicated to the team… and those who were close to him. He died honorably, trying to save Kurogawa from the witch." There was an odd whine in the older man's voice as he explained with a little more depth than Kate had.

He walked over to Michael's desk, and turned off the computer. He put a hand on Michael's shoulder, half in a sort of pseudo comfort, but the boy also sensed that it was half to hold him self up. "Don't work any more tonight."

With that, the new leader left as well, leaving Michael to stare once more at the box of doughnuts. Suddenly, his face was wet, and his throat was constricting with unbidden tears. He jumped up, throwing down the stupid gift, smashing it into the floor with all of his might, picking up the coffee mug on his desk and hurling it against the wall in his hurt anger. _Yeah right, Happy Thanksgiving._ He thought sardonically, as he shoved all of the paper off of his desk and kicked his chair over.

An agonized scream filled the empty office, as he collapsed, sobbing, against a wall. He had cut his hand on the glass from the shattered mug, but he didn't care at all. And this time, when he cried himself to sleep, there would be no compassionate leader to come in, clean up his mess, and act like nothing had happened. There was no one.

* * *

Review responses:

Lady-Azura: Well, if soon is one month plus, then I guess I did okay ' Thanks for reading!

plecostomus-of-justice: Thanks for your review. I just did exactly what you said I didn't do. I created in incredible amount of teenage angst, complete with a temper tantrum.

The-Anibee: I'll really try. I kind of hit a roadblock with this chapter, because I knew it was going to need to happen, but I was having troubles with when I would do so. Now I have a more structured storyline to follow, thanks to the Anime (i.e. the whole Kate vs. Amon thing, the development of both Doujima and Karasuma, the introduction of Sakaki, etc.) I hope you enjoy this chapter.

BlackDeath6: I have this issue with writing long things. I hope you enjoy this update though.

Kairivoosh: -- I'm not amazing, really. Rather the opposite. I just enjoy writing in my spare time, or lack thereof. P Thanks for your review.


	9. Replacement

**The Amber World**  
by IceRi 

**Summary**: A series of vignettes on the life of Michael Lee, before, during, and after the series. When a replacement is brought in for Edward Wong, Michael has a hard time coping. Could the upcoming holiday season ease his ill feelings towards the newcomer?

**Rating**: PG, 'cause I say so.

**Disclaimer**: I own the soundtrack. That's it.

**Author's note**: Holiday season means plenty of time to write. Thanks for all of your reviews. I'm hoping to hit 50 with this chapter! Also, I'm taking a little tiny bit of artistic license, and pretending that either they all work weekends, or Christmas isn't a Sunday… Without further delay, enter Sakaki.

* * *

Replacement

If there had ever been anything that Michael hadn't expected, it was for Edward and Tsubasa to be replaced quite so soon. Something around the office of the STN-J made it feel like the grieving hadn't quite finished yet, though Michael himself had already been through the issue for himself. Karasuma had quite abruptly gone from a somewhat unsure teenager to a confident and cold young woman. She had the third most seniority among the current hunters, and had recently been raised to S-class. Ever since her break down, things hadn't been quite right between, surprisingly, Kate and Amon. There was some type of thinly veiled friction between the two oldest members of the team. That wasn't the element making all of the tension. Or maybe it was just him.

Nevertheless, one Monday morning at approximately 8:45 am, a sleepy looking boy wandered in to the office. He seemed about Doujima's age, which seemed to make her happy, as she perked up in her chair and immediately began checking her makeup. Before Michael could ask who he was and why he was there, he was escorted to Zaizen's office by Amon. He continued working on the hunt statistics for a fairly peaceful witch that both Karasuma and Kate were out checking on at the time.

Almost an hour had passed, and both girls had returned to the office, bringing Michael a much appreciated western style breakfast from the café close to the office, a little place called Harry's. Suddenly, though, Amon sauntered in, again with the young guy in his wake. The chief jumped up right away, and it clicked to Michael right away.

"This young man is Sakaki Haruto. He's a seed, the new hunter, so I hope you all welcome him warmly." Kosaka kept on rambling away, like he had when introducing Michael, but the young computer genius had tuned out. He fixed a glare on the guy, and turned back to his workstation. _A replacement. Not a recruit. How could they do that to us so soon? Do the lives of people mean nothing?_ Through his mental griping, he didn't even notice Sakaki trying to get his attention. Finally, he snapped his head up towards the other.

"What?" He quipped irritably.

"Hey, sorry man. Just trying to introduce myself here." Sakaki held up his hands defensively.

He rolled his eyes. "Michael Lee." He said with a tone of finality.

"Okay, whatever…" He moved away, towards the ever present Doujima. "Who pissed in his breakfast?"

"Oh don't mind puppy boy, he just gets like that when someone yanks his chain." She purred flirtatiously, earning a laugh from Sakaki. The young hacker gritted his teeth and burned with anger. Who did they think they _were_ anyway?

* * *

In the days following, he felt his anger towards the new member of the team fading gradually, though he didn't want it to, and clung to every last shred of hatred he had for the young man. It felt like something he needed to do, for some reason, like he would be forsaking a very important memory if he didn't hold on to the injustice. But whenever he turned around, he felt like he wanted to go over and talk to the guy. When he actually bothered to listen, he heard some interesting things, and it turned out that they shared a few similar interests. It was too bad he had gotten off to such a bad start.

It was two days from the Christmas holiday, but since they were all in Japan, there was no day off. However, it was apparent that they had all celebrated the holiday at one time or another, as the pace of work slowed somewhat (to Amon's chagrin). Michael and Kate compared Christmas traditions from Canada and England respectively, and even Doujima joined in the fun when most of them stayed late after work one day to put up little lights around the windows.

Finally, to put it in the most clichéd way possible, 'twas the night before Christmas. Even Amon had given up on the prospect of work, and gone out drinking with his new girlfriend; Zaizen's daughter Touko. Sakaki had, in an uncommon burst of responsibility, stayed late to work on some things he had assigned to get done. Granted, it had been due the week before, and he seemed to be desperately trying to prove himself. Yet another thing Michael could relate to.

After another hour of very little progress being made, a frustrated growl came from behind him. Michael cleared his throat as politely as possible, slightly nervous; he hadn't reconciled with Sakaki over their botched meeting yet.

"What is it, hacker, can't you see I'm busy?" He snapped without even looking up. Michael flinched unconsciously, but resolved not to get his back up. After all, it was Christmas Eve.

"Well, I was thinking, since I'm here anyway, I could finish that for you. Then you could go home, and I'll put it on Amon's desk for tomorrow morning. He'll be happy, in his own sort of unemotional way." He offered, trying not to sound too meek in his nervousness.

Sakaki looked up, surprised at the offer. Michael could see the inner conflict playing out there, but finally the teenager sighed and gave up. He picked up his jacket and his bike helmet. "Sure, whatever. Thanks I guess." The biker took off, and Michael transferred the file over to his own computer. It was a total mess, and the techie chuckled and shook his head before sipping his cold coffee from a few hours before and getting started.

* * *

After work the next day, most people left early again, going out to their respective dinners or whatnot. Again, Michael found himself alone with the rookie. However, Sakaki didn't seem to be working on anything, mainly just twiddling his thumbs and waiting for everyone to leave. The hacker stopped and stared for a few seconds, wondering what was up. Surprisingly, Sakaki struck up a conversation with him.

"So, I suppose you aren't too busy tonight, I mean obviously… Since you live here and there isn't anyone around…" He realised he was rambling on and scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Do you mind if I stick around for awhile? We could order in or something."

"Sure, it's no problem." Michael paused. "If you don't mind me asking, why?"

Sakaki was caught off guard by the question, and he smiled nervously. "Well we really didn't get off to a great start, and then out of the blue you do that awesome thing for me. Now I'm in Amon's good books again, and I really owe it to you. Besides, I don't really know you at all, and I figured, since we're about the same age, we could be buddies."

Michael smiled, and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud. "Great. Order, I'm starved. We can charge it to the STN, since I need it to live."

Sakaki laughed, dialing a local Chinese food delivery place. "Sweet."

They stayed up late, eating and goofing off, competing with each other at fighting games that Michael had downloaded. In the end, they ended up passing out on the couches sleepily. The forgotten Christmas lights cast a multicolored glow over their faces, lit with smiles through sleep.

* * *

Review responses:

plecostomus-of-justice: Well, I've gotten reviews that say it's the perfect amount, and that it's too much, but thanks for your comments. It's always good to get feedback

Kairivoosh: It's very sad. I didn't like writing that chapter.

Lady-Azura: Less than a month! I got it down at least! But I hope to have another chapter up by the end of the holidays.

Tylec Asroc: Thanks for your feedback, as always. I'm glad Karasuma's reaction was recognized for what it was, a real climax of character. As for the ending, I really wanted to convey the amount of, well, angst he was going through. I acknowledge it was out of character, but on the same level, I didn't want to tone down the amount of pain and frustration he was feeling. However, I can't say I know what a teenaged boy would do in that situation, because I am not in fact a teenaged boy. So yes, it really was somewhat there to get the response, because that was my aim.

The-Anibee: Really? I didn't think it flowed well… Thanks for the compliment. Enjoy this chapter!

BlackDeath6: Long awaited indeed. I hope this one came faster for you.

fallenangelofnight: Thanks so much for your in depth review! Hehe, I realize that yellow glasses can cut down on the glare from the computer screen. I just figured that I might take it from a different angle and see where it went. Enjoy this chapter.


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